Video: Exporting from Final Cut Pro X

When you're finally done editing your program, of course, you want to export your movie. In Final Cut 7, you used to export from the File menu where you could File > Share or File > Export. Now all export is done in its own drop-down menu called Share. The first thing we're going to look at is exporting a movie. This is primarily what you may want to do as an editor. Just get your movie out to a hard drive and then move it from there. So Export Movie works pretty much the same way as it did in all previous versions, including the keyboard shortcut, Command+E. When exporting a movie now, you'll notice that the interface is much more simple.

Watch the Online Video Course Migrating from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X

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Migrating from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X gives video editors a comprehensive tour of the new tools and the interface makeover for Apple's premier video editing software. It showcases the differences from Final Cut Pro 7 and paves the way for a painless upgrade experience. Author Abba Shapiro covers the new interface and workflows in Final Cut X, the magnetic timeline, connected clips, and the deep integration of color correction and sound editing.

This course helps experienced Final Cut Pro editors understand new ways of performing traditional editing techniques. New terminology and new tools for performing editing functions are also clarified.

Exporting from Final Cut Pro X

When you're finally done editing your program, of course, you want to export your movie.In Final Cut 7, you used to export from the File menu where you could File >Share or File > Export.Now all export is done in its own drop-down menu called Share.The first thing we're going to look at is exporting a movie.This is primarily what you may want to do as an editor.Just get your movie out to a hard drive and then move it from there.So Export Movie works pretty much the same way as it did in all previousversions, including the keyboard shortcut, Command+E. When exporting a movie now,you'll notice that the interface is much more simple.

I can export using the current settings which is historically what we've done,but I can also export to all the flavors of ProRes, H.264, as well as other legacy formats.After I export the movie, I can choose to open it up with QuickTime Player.I can open it up in Compressor to do further compression or simply do nothing.Once again, just like previous versions, I can do Video and Audio or Video only.Of course, if you just want to audio that's a separate option under the Share menu.If you hit Next at this point, Final Cut X will simply ask you where you wantthat movie to be stored.

Let's go ahead and cancel and take a look at some of the other options that arenow available in the Share menu.At the top of the list is the Media Browser.This is useful if you want to share your movie with other applications on yourMac such as iWeb or GarageBand.One of my favorite Share options is the Apple Devices and finding more and moremy clients and my friends all have some sort of Apple device that they want toplay my movie back on, whether it would be an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple TV orjust on their Mac or PC.As I select each one of these devices, you'll notice that not only doesthe interface change,it also gives me a best guess on the size of my final file.

I can click over from iPhone to iPad to Apple TV and I can see those areroughly the same size, but when I jump over to Mac and PC, it's going to make aslightly larger file size.Now if you notice, next to the image on the Apple TV, it says Compatible with:Apple TV second-generation, the iPad, and the iPhone 4.But if I want to export it out and have it have to be compatible with theolder devices such as the third- generation iPhone, the first-generation AppleTV and so on, I simply go down to Show Details and I can choose Higher Qualityor More Compatibility.

Take a look at the interface when I switch on Higher Quality toMore Compatibility.The little icon of the Apple TV will change from a generation 2 Apple TV to afirst-generation Apple TV.Another option you have in the Advanced tab is I have the ability to export avariety of formats with one click.So I can export iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and a Mac version all at once.In addition to this, I also have a choice about my compression strategy.I can choose better quality, which uses multiple passes to get the best qualityin the smallest file, or if I am in a hurry I can do a faster encode, a one-passencode, which may give me a larger file, that maybe I'll make FedEx that night.

Another thing that I find really cool about this interface is that-- let's switchto the iPad-- I can actually scrub through and see what the image looks like onthe device that's going to play back on.Let's go over to the Advanced tab.The Advanced tab has a key selection,Background Rendering.If I leave it on None, when I press the Share button, I'll be locked out of FinalCut Pro during the entire export process, but if you want this to work a lotlike Final Cut Pro 7, switch from None to This Computer.

Now it's going to use all available resources to export your program, butstill lets you edit.As you use more resources and editing, it may slow down your export, but atleast you can do two things at the same time.If you're familiar with Qmaster, this is now called This Computer Plus.Finally, you can choose whether you want to add it to your iTunes libraryautomatically or if you uncheck it, it will just go to the location that you specify.Now I'm not going to hit Share at this point because I want to show you someof your other options.

So let's go ahead and press Cancel.Back in the Share menu, let's quickly look at some of our other options.You can, of course, export a DVD or a Blu- ray just like you could in Final Cut Pro 7.New in Final Cut Pro 10 is the ability to export to Podcast Producer and toeven send an email.Now, what I like about the Email option is it will actually create afile and do a best guess at the size so I know that it will go through the email servers.So if I choose Small, it's going to be 2.5 megabytes.Medium, it jumps up to 5, and if I try to do Large, it will actually give me awarning, because it's going to try to create a file that's over 20 megabytes in size.

Once I've made this decision, I can click Compose Message and it takes me to Mail.Again, we're going to Cancel so we can go down our list.In Final Cut Pro 7, you could export directly to YouTube.They've really expanded upon this in Final Cut Pro 10.You can now export directly to YouTube as well as Facebook, Vimio, and even CNN iReport.As I promised earlier, if you wanted to just put out an audio file simply hit Export Audio.Now you'll notice that Save Current Frame is grayed out.

So let's take a look how you would export a single frame of video.In Final Cut Pro 10, you needed to step inside your project and position your playheadon the frame that you want to export.So, for instance, if I want to export this frame of video, I select it and nowunder the Share menu, you see that Export Current Frame is available and I canchoose a variety of flavors for that frame to be.Now you know that when you want to export your movie, you don't go under theFile menu to choose Share or Export.

You now can do that under the Share menu.Not only as Apple expanded your options to share to a variety of new locations,but it's also made it simpler and easier to use.

There are currently no FAQs about Migrating from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X.

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